Ireland’s legislators have been urged to exercise caution in preparing changes to the nation’s Constitution dealing with blasphemy as an offence. A Constitutional Convention has recommended removing the blasphemy provision, following overwhelming support for this in submissions. But a date for a referendum has yet to be decided. The Church of Ireland’s David Pierpont, Archdeacon Read more
Posts Tagged ‘constitution’
Roman Curia set for complete overhaul, not upgrade
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013
Confirmation that Pope Francis intends a complete overhaul of the Roman Curia has been made official following the first meeting of the Council of Cardinals appointed to help the Pope govern the Church. The aim is to emphasise the Curia’s role of service to the universal Church and the local churches “in terms of subsidiarity, Read more
Legion of Christ to get new leaders and constitutions
Tuesday, October 8th, 2013The papal delegate overseeing the Legion of Christ has announced a general chapter early next year to establish new constitutions for the institute and to elect new leaders. “The upcoming extraordinary general chapter comes at the end of a long journey of spiritual renewal and will have as its principle purpose the conclusion of the Read more
New constitution in Egypt worse than old one
Tuesday, July 16th, 2013Though most Christians in Egypt celebrated the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, a Coptic Catholic bishop says the country’s new constitution is worse than the old one. “The provisions that in the old constitution seemed bad in the eyes of Christians are highlighted in the new text,” said Kamal Fahim Awad (Boutros) Hanna of Minya. Read more
US Supreme Court to rule on same-sex marriage
Tuesday, December 11th, 2012
The United States Supreme Court has decided to rule on the constitutionality of same-sex marriage — a decision the US Catholic Bishops Conference sees as “a significant moment for our nation”. The court’s ruling, which could have ramifications for marriage laws across the country, is not expected until next June. The court has chosen to Read more
Christians quit work on Egyptian constitution
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012Representatives of Egypt’s three main Christian churches have jointly decided to end their participation in writing a new Egyptian constitution because it will not reflect the pluralistic identity of the Muslim nation. A primary concern is an article enshrining the “principles” of shari’ah law as the primary source of legislation. “The only ones who can Read more